Ignoring the jibes and thanking those who show their support for me on here, let me say that I did not watch the programme. That was a deliberate omission on my part.
Fundamentally, it is a simple problem. We're in debt and we need to find out how to get out of debt.
However this leads me on to two important points:
First of all, the sky is not falling. The aim of TV is to dramatise and fear is always welcome. But one needs to remember that all this talk about saddling future generations with debt (Oh, yes, bring on the children for added pathos!) is talk. Individually, they are not going to given a tax demand as they exit the womb, so let's cut the hyperbole.
The debt is large, very large, but there is no reason why this situation should not be compared to a simplified small business. The company has run up debts. Which way now? Yes, it will need to reduce spending, but that alone will not solve the problem. The company needs to increase turnover and profitability in order that the resulting increase in revenue should not only maintain the infrastructure of the firm (vitally), but contribute to the repayment of the debt. That means increasing sales.
Taking this example to the level of the state, it needs to control public spending but also energise the economy without damaging the infrastructure (vital). That is why the Chuckle Brothers have it entirely wrong with the increase in VAT and other taxes and duties.
Going back to the example of the small firm, these clowns are effectively raising their product prices and hoping to skim off more to pay for the debt, blissfully unaware that the amount they take in revenue will, of course, fall. What they
should be doing is reducing taxes (cf. reducing prices in the case of the small firm) to energise the economy and thus increase revenue in the form of tax income.
However, they are a bit dim, so expect a further slowdown in the economy.
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Topic: Britains Trillion pound horror story . (Read 1946 times)